MARRIAGE MISCHIEF (Nov, 1953)

MARRIAGE MISCHIEF

ONLY 98c

SINGLE OR MARRIED, you’ll go for this saucy “undress” view of bride and groom. MARRIAGE MISCHIEF is brand new, devilishly indiscreet, with original full page cartoons. Featuring: What Every Bride Should Know . . . Counsel for the Bewildered Groom . . . The Wedding Daze . . . The Bachelor Dinner . . . Hazards of the First Night . . . Honeymoons, Conventional and Otherwise . . . From Smoker to Bedroom . . . The Truth About Trousseaux . . . And many more provoking topics to keep you gagging. An ideal wedding or anniversary gift. TRY MARRIAGE MISCHIEF 10 DAYS AT OUR EXPENSE. Money back if not satisfied. C.O.D. pay postman 98c plus postage. If you send 98c, we pay postage.

This ad is from 1953, coincidentally the year Playboy magazine was founded. I wonder if that had a positive or negative effect on the risqué-cartoon-book market?

I wouldn’t be surprised if the bottom dropped out (ooh-er, Vicar!).

Firebrand38 says: March 16, 20102:39 pm

Daniel Rutter: I haven’t actually seen the book first hand, but this description at a website having one for sale makes me wonder just how racy it was (check the authors, I mean friggin’ Aesop for crying out loud!):

Author Name: Keating, Walter S. (editor)

Title: Marriage Mischief

Binding: Stiff Card Wraps
Book Condition: Good
Size: Octavo — from 7.75″ to 9.75″ Tall
Publisher: New York Plaza Book Company 1951
Illustrator: Louis Priscilla

I have a record album of the same vintage, with “Racy Party Songs” on it. If I recall, the title is “Spice After Hours”, and the raciest song is probably The Good Ship Venus.

My favorite is the cowboy classic “Little Ball of Yarn.”

Charlene says: March 16, 20105:02 pm

The ad copy is remarkably cleverly worded – it leads the reader to believe he’ll get something he won’t without actually making any deceitful claims of the “royal jelly” variety.

“Saucy “undress” view” makes it sound like the book contains nudes (especially when followed by “full page cartoons”), but the word “undress” is being used in the meaning of “literary deconstruction”. “What Every Bride Should Know” again sounds like it should be about sex, but it could be about anything a new wife of the day needs to know about – cooking, cleaning, or even household repairs.

Firebrand38 says: March 17, 20105:36 am

Toronto: When I looked up the Good Ship venus I saw the lyrics to a song that I had always known as “The North Atlantic Squadron” Lyrics can be found here

rick says: March 17, 20106:30 am

“And many more provoking topics to keep you gagging.” Not sure how to take that statement.

Rick

Toronto says: March 17, 201010:32 am

FB: Not this version – the North Atlantic Squadron is a very rousing song* by comparison (and not on the album, oddly enough.)